Thousand Oaks makes it 12 straight over Agoura

Thanks to a superb rushing attack and a few key stops and turnovers, Thousand Oaks High was able to outlast visiting Agoura in a classic back-and-forth affair that came down to the wire Thursday night.

The Lancers (2-3) benefited from 205 yards on 33 carries and two touchdowns from senior running back Angel Baker, but it was quarterback Chase Artopoeus who made the big play in crunch time to seal the 24-17 victory for Thousand Oaks.

With the game knotted at 17-17 with less than two minutes left to play, Artopoeus hit wide receiver Freddie Ricketts on a screen pass disguised as a quarterback keeper.

With the defense keyed on Artopoeus, Ricketts — the Lancers’ starting quarterback last season — scampered 49 yards to the end zone for the game-winner.

Agoura (3-3) had one final chance to tie or take the lead, but a dropped pass on a fourth-and-10 allowed Thousand Oaks to run the clock out.

For the Chargers, who now have lost to Thousand Oaks 12 straight times, the game came down to missed opportunities and key turnovers.

“If we catch the ball and (don’t) fumble, we win,” Agoura head coach Kamran Salem said. “We came into this game thinking that we were a good match for them, and if we executed our game plan and took care of the football, it would make a difference. I think the game came down to turnovers. We just didn’t protect the ball like we needed to.”

On multiple occasions, Agoura had open receivers down field only to have them overthrown by mere inches. However, it was a fumble that changed the fabric of the game.

Up 10-7 in the third quarter, Agoura took over at its own 19-yard line following a missed Thousand Oaks field goal. Fighting for extra yardage, running back Nick Reeder had the ball knocked out by a gang of Lancers defenders, who were able to recover the loose ball in the pile.

The turnover not only led to a momentum swing in Thousand Oaks’ favor, but a 17-yard touchdown run from Baker, his second of the game. Baker seemed unstoppable throughout the night, and took the pressure off of Artopoeus, who was coming off of a school-record 53 pass attempts in the Lancers’ previous game against West Ranch two weeks ago. On Thursday night, Artopoeus completed 10 of 15 passes for 124 yards.

“When we prepared for them, we knew Angel was going to have a big night,” Thousand Oaks head coach Mike Leibin said. “The way that (Agoura) plays their guys and configure situations, we knew we could take advantage of that. Angel has had two great games back to back. I’m glad we didn’t have to throw 53 times tonight, and I’m glad that we were able to get the run game going. I thought our offensive line did a phenomenal job up front.”

After starting off the season 0-2, Thousand Oaks has now won two of its last three games, and will look to take the momentum into its next matchup on the road against St. Bonaventure.

“I felt like my whole team doesn’t want to lose anymore,” Baker said. “We all stepped it up during our bye week and we came out and wanted to win it tonight. As long as we keep trying our hardest, we will keep on getting better.”

For Agoura, things don’t get much easier as it will host the high-powered Moorpark offense next week.

“We’re going to do what we always do (to prepare for next week),” Salem said. “We’re going to go back, regroup, form a game plan, think about what we did well and could do better, and visualize and try and achieve that for next week.”